Sage Advice Collection

I have just bought the new DUNGEON MASTERS SCREEN, and it says that monks attack on the clerics table. But in the PLAYERS HANDBOOK it says that they fight on the thief's table. Which is it?

Monks attack on the cleric’s table. A last-minute change by the staff members who worked on the DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE was made, reasoning that it would be better for the balance of the game
if monks attacked on the cleric’s table. We realize the change is going to cause some problems and we are doing all we can to ease the confusion. The monk, however, still saves on the thief 's table.

2.

DR031

Dragon #31

In ADVANCED DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, how much damage do bows do?

None. Bows do not do damage, arrows do. However, if you hit someone with a bow, I’d say it would probably do 1-4 points of damage and thereafter render the bow completely useless for firing
arrows. What the bows do is allow a greater variety of ranges; all the
damage done by arrows is the same

3.

DR031

Dragon #31

We have a group of players here who insist that
they can ride on a mule in a 10-foot-wide and 10-foot-high
corridor and shoot arrows from longbows. Now, there are two
characters who say they ride side by side and do this over the
objections of the rest of the party members. I think this is
wrong. Am I right?

Yes, you are correct. First, you cannot shoot arrows from a
longbow in a dungeon that has 10-by-10-foot passageways. Longbows
are indirect fire weapons and you need lots of space to use one.
Second, as for the men: From your letter, I gather that they are wearing
plate mail. It would be extremely difficult to ride side by side in a
corridor this size with two nervous mules and two fully armored men.
The mules are not strong enough to carry what a war horse is supposed
to carry. Mules are mostly used as pack animals. Also, firing from the back of an animal is hard enough and to fire a longbow from one is
impossible.

4.

DR031

Dragon #31

In our town of Terre Haute, there is an eighthlevel
paladin that has a favorite saying, Repent or Die. On one
occasion he pulled back the arm of a captured orc, placed a
Ring of regeneration on his finger and then ripped his face off.
When the orcs face healed, he would do it again. He says he
has a valid right to do this, because torture was very much a
part of the inquisition and he is saving the orcs soul. This
raises two questions. First, is the paladin still a paladin and if
not, is he changed forever?

Inform the paladin he isn’t one any more. His new alignment
is now lawful evil. Paladins tend to frown upon torture of any kind
for any reason and would not let it be done in their presence, let alone
do it themselves. Good and the process of law must be followed.
Everything a paladin does must obey laws of good and thereby insure
that all are treated fairly and just.
Granted, a lot of cruel and heartless things have been done in the
name of religion, but that doesn’t mean that it was good or right. Men
have always done strange things for even stranger reasons. For the
paladin to have tortured the orc was an evil act, and therefore he has
given up the right to be a paladin. I suggest that he not be allowed to
regain it, either, but if you decide to let him, make sure the quest is long,
hard, and nearly impossible to accomplish.

5.

DR031

Dragon #31

In GODS, DEMI-GODS AND HEROES it says
that a forty-plus level character is ridiculous. In our game we
have two characters that are at one thousand-plus level. This
happened in Armageddon, a conflict between the gods and
the characters. Of course, the characters won. What do you
think about that?

Not much. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I will
repeat: A forty-plus-level character is ridiculous. We feel that you must
advance one level at a time, not a whole bunch at once. I don’t
understand how or what happened or even if all the gods were in this
battle, but if you enjoy playing this way, feel free to do so. I don’t want
to spoil your fun.

6.

DR031

Dragon #31

A couple of friends and I are planning on taking
over our DMs island. So far our plan is working. Unfortunately,
we have encountered some problems. What we want to know
is how to spawn orcs? We need an army at the moment.

Orcs are mammals and therefore do not spawn. You will
have to find some other way to raise your army.

7.

DR031

Dragon #31

In the AD&D PLAYERS HANDBOOK, under the
Read Magic spell, it says that scrolls must have the spell cast
upon them before they can be read by the Magic-User. What
does a magic-user do if he doesnt have a Read Magic? What
about the poor illusionist who has no Read Magic spell at all, except perhaps as a seventh-level spell? Furthermore, what do
clerics do about scrolls? Do they have any?

In the DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE, it says that all
magic-users know the spell Read Magic. They would be worthless to
their master (from whom they learned the profession) without it.
Illusionists don’t need a Read Magic. as all of their spells are written in
the same secret language. This also applies to clerics. even though their
spells are god-given, so yes, clerics can have scrolls.

8.

DR031

Dragon #31

Do rangers automatically get a first-level spell
book, rolling for spells as does a first-level magic-user, or
must they research them and build from scratch?

Rangers must research their spells. They just don’t wake
up one morning and say, “Why, I can cast spells now!” When the
ranger reaches the 8th level, he discovers he has the ability to learn
druids’ spells as he does for magic-users’ spells at 9th level. Whether he
learns them or not depends on how successful his attempts are.

9.

DR031

Dragon #31

Will the new attack matrix (armor class system)
in the DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE work with the MONSTER
MANUAL?

Yes, it will. All D&D material that says ADVANCED
DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS is meant to be used together. You will
have no trouble playing the monsters with the attack tables found in the
DMG.

10.

DR031

Dragon #31

When will Q1, QUEEN OF THE DEMONWEB
PITS, be released? I am really looking forward to playing in it.

Q1 is being written by Dave Sutherland, TSR’s Art Director.
Dave has a lot of demands on his time and is working on it as often
as he can. We are very short-handed in the Art Dept. and I cannot say
when Q1 will be ready for release.